HIGHLIGHTS BY DA GAME SHOW HOST DAVE WARD

An easier version of the Gold with all the same great qualities. The higher handicapper will appreciate the shorter length and the sloping fairways that will forgive your errant tee shots. Three of the par 3s on this course are

less than 120 yards from the white tees but require a precise short iron to have a chance at birdie. I also like finishing a round on a high note…The 18th hole is a friendly par 5 that should end your day with a smile.

OVERVIEW

The way Robert Trent Jones II designed the Emerald is clever. It has respectable length, at 6,801 yards, yet plays among the easiest on Maui. Why? Jones pads the three-shot par 5s with extra yardage and shortened the average lengths of the par 4s and 3s. Then he made virtually every tee shot play either downhill or level. The result is a course that is easier but still offers plenty of variety and length. Scratch golfers will find the Emerald is Maui’s 6th most playable venue for them—an ego-booster for sure. Bogey golfers will love it even more, as the USGA slope rating team here in Hawaii ranks this course as the 4th easiest here. From the forward tees the Emerald is the 2nd easiest on Maui.

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TEE-TO-GREEN

Tee shots get plenty of roll. There is little if any wind. Keeping the ball in play is easier because many fairways run parallel, and are wide. Roughs are cut short and allow for recovery. Few sharp doglegs exist. Topography is hilly and felt mostly on the approach. The green sizes are varied and hold well. Most are average in size and accept running shots. Water comes into play on the side of the 10th and 17th, which share Maui’s only double green.

DIFFICULTY

HAZARDS AND ROUGHS

GREEN SIZES

EDITOR’S NOTES

Unlike the courses on the West Side, which were built on old sugar cane and pineapple fields, Wailea’s 54-holes were all carved out of lava rock! The stark contrast between these two types of course construction is evident in the way holes can change elevation so radically and in short order, as opposed to a a gentle slope. You really get the sense that you’re playing golf on the side of a volcano here, only the way the landscaping was done is elaborate and makes this feel more like a garden oasis as opposed to a lava field, like on the Big Island.

FOR THE MEEK

ROOM FOR ERROR

WOW FACTOR

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES

Wailea’s award-winning pro shop is a shopper’s paradise, and the Club’s famed plantation-style open-air clubhouse is home to Gannon’s Restaurant, a stylish indoor/outdoor eatery with amazing views, and the popular Red bar. Other facilities include: Grass teed range with target greens, practice bunker and pitching green, enormous multi-level putting green, and the icing on the cake: Hawaii’s only David Leadbetter Golf Academy, with top PGA pros Eddie and Reneé Lee in charge. Also, on-course beverage service awaits.

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CONCLUSIONS

Robert Trent Jones called the Emerald the ‘feminine’ and the Golf the ‘masculine’ courses, but i have to say that men rarely waltz onto this golf course and shoot sub-par rounds. Sure, Jack and Arnie or the best collegiate players will, but the weekend warrior is going to find this golf course gets

progressively tougher as you move back in the tees. This golf course is not the easiest nor is it the hardest, from any tee. It actually sits neatly in the middle. But while score is the name of the game, experiencing a quiet, private, secluded Maui is also key, and here the Emerald excels just like the Gold.